


you on my mind

by princessguard



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Awkwardness, Coffee Shops, Denial of Feelings, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, lucio is an actor, only tagging the characters that are. more relevant in here but there are others mentioned, this is so full of cliches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessguard/pseuds/princessguard
Summary: And, okay, so maybe Lucio’s hand tends to linger at the side of his face after he brushes Sandalphon’s bangs aside despite there being absolutely no one around, smiling gently as he tells him, “It was getting in your eyes,”, but friends do that too, right? Lucio was just making sure he could see, like a good friend would! Right.Or: The one where Sandalphon is painfully oblivious about his feelings while Lucio is painfully obvious.
Relationships: Lucio & Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy), Lucio/Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	you on my mind

**Author's Note:**

> dumps this here and leaves
> 
> lately i've been really into ciosan so this is very very self-indulgent and just something silly that ended up turning out to be 5k words. the absolute monster. also yes, lucio has long hair because i say so.
> 
> thank you for reading and any comments/likes would be greatly appreciated! <3

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.”

Lucioー Ah, no, _Romeo’s_ voice echoes throughout the theater as countless women in the audience start to sigh wistfully, whispers of “Oh, I wish I was Juliet!” starting up behind Sandalphon as the two girls that have been annoying him the entire play giggle in hushed whispers.

Sandalphon’s eye starts twitching involuntarily. While he’s used to women preening over Lucio, at least most of them had the decency to do it _after_ the show. This is a theater for goodness sake, did no one teach them anything about the etiquette of theater-going? Sandalphon turns around and shoots them a sharp glare and instantly they shut up. Finally, he thinks, resolving to return his attention to the stage but not before inserting a, “Juliet dies, by the way. You’re better off not wanting to be her.”

The women gape at him and he casually shifts his eyes back to the stage, smirking victoriously. Beside him Djeeta is giving him an unimpressed look as she elbows him in the side, hissing, “Was that really necessary?”

“What?” Sandalphon asks innocently. “It’s not my fault if people don’t know the ending to Romeo and Juliet when it’s older than everyone in this room.”

Djeeta opens her mouth again, a sign that Sandalphon can easily recognise by now as one that she’s about to argue with him so he tunes her out, focusing his eyes back on Lucio instead. The outfit he has on compliments his figure. He’s wearing fitted pants and a simple lace-up poet shirt, except the laces have been loosely done, showing a very generous portion of his chest where the shirt dips. If Sandalphon’s eyes linger too long there instead of his face, it’s not like anyone else in the room will know, anyway.

Lucio and Sandalphon have an… odd relationship that should probably be traced back to the day they met.

♡

Sandalphon had been town in that day, buying more ingredients for the café. He was about to head back to said shop, completely minding his own business when a very ruffled man quite literally collided with him, causing him to drop the paper bag he was holding in his hands.

The blonde stranger apologized instantaneously, bending down to retrieve the fallen paper bag and handing it back to Sandalphon. At that time, Sandalphon still had had no idea who Lucio was. Sandalphon stared at the man, unimpressed, as he takes the paper bag into his hands. “Be more careful next tiー”

The stranger ignored him, eyes wide and pleading as he mouthed, “Quick, play along,” before Sandalphon could even get a word in. Instead of choosing to question what he meant by that, Sandalphon frowned at the stranger, about to snap unpleasantly when a group of women practically flooded them from all sides, clamoring for the stranger’s attention.

_What is going on._

The blonde, without any warning whatsoever, hooked his arm through Sandalphon’s, pulling him to his side as he announced (very loudly, to Sandalphon’s mortification), “Sorry I’m late, honey,” all while sporting a charming smile. Sandalphon’s heart did a weird flip at the man’s smile, but, whatever. He also might have just so happened to notice that _huh, this man is_ really _tall and why does he smell so nice_ , all before pushing him away and hissing, “What the fuck?”, face ablaze with embarrassment.

Lucio (or the annoyingly pretty stranger, Sandalphon had called him in his mind prior to knowing his name) clearly did not expect such a reaction from Sandalphon as he fumbled to fix the situation. “Oh sweetheart, I know you’re angry but don’t be like that,” said man laughed nervously.

“My apologies, but it seems I’ve made my boyfriend here wait long enough for me and he’s a little angry. Please, if you would excuse us,” he addressed the crowd of onlookers still observing their entire spectacle, ushering both him and Sandalphon away from the crowd at breakneck speed before Sandalphon could start sputtering at being called this complete stranger’s boyfriend.

The man later introduced himself as Lucio, an actor who Sandalphon briefly recalled Lyria and Djeeta discussing about the other day. “I am truly sorry for that. I ran into you and immediately saw you as my ticket out,” he apologized profusely to Sandalphon afterwards.

“Here. Why don’t you come see me some time? I would love to see a pretty face like yours in the audience,” Lucio smiled, producing a ticket from his pocket. Sandalphon snatched it up instantly, grumbling, “Maybe if I feel like it,” before stomping away because he was clearly not embarrassed about being called pretty.

♡

So, yes. Maybe Sandalphon did end up going to his play, but only out of sheer curiosity and not because he couldn’t get his mind off of Lucio. Definitely not. Weirdly enough, Lucio had been overjoyed to see him, even going as far as to treat him to dinner afterwards, telling him all about the next play he would be starring in. Surprisingly, Lucio was very good company and the two of them made pleasant conversation throughout. The night ended with Sandalphon stumbling back home with a slightly giddy feeling, a small smile on his lips.

Their friendship (?) continued just like that, with Lucio continuously inviting him to his shows and Sandalphon turning up to every single one of them without fail despite his lack of interest in going to plays in the first place. Eventually, his friends caught wind of his newfound hobby of theater-going and decided to tag along, with Sandalphon very reluctantly introducing his friends to Lucio at the end of the play. Of course, it goes without saying that his friends were very disappointed in him for ‘keeping Lucio to himself all this time’, as Gabriel had phrased it.

“You never told me the friend you were going to see all this time was _the_ Lucio!” Djeeta had pouted after getting over her initial meltdown of meeting the famed actor while Lucio simply laughed, remaking that he was nothing special.

Except he is. And as much as Sandalphon enjoys his company (fine, he admits it), because of the little stunt Lucio had pulled during their first meeting, now the entire public thinks that Sandalphon is Lucio’s lover. Boyfriend. Whatever. Which leads to their somewhat complicated relationship of friends who so happen to occasionally hold hands in front of the public eye to ‘keep up appearances’. Of course, only his friends know the true nature of their relationship, or well, lack thereof.

And, okay, so maybe Lucio’s hand tends to linger at the side of his face after he brushes Sandalphon’s bangs aside despite there being absolutely no one around, smiling gently as he tells him, “ _It was getting in your eyes,”,_ but friends do that too, right? Lucio was just making sure he could see, like a good friend would! Right.

Beside him, Michael clears her throat, snapping Sandalphon out of his thoughts and he all but almost jumps out of his seat at the sound. “Sandalphon? You’re… gripping the armrest very tightly. Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Sandalphon startles, releasing his hold on the armrest. “I’m not…”

He looks down, and those are very apparent dents staring back at him on the armrest. Oh.

“With how hard Sandalphon was staring at Lucio too, you’d think he would notice,” Djeeta speaks up in a whisper and Sandalphon flushes, fixing her with a glare.

“I wasn’t…!”

His words are cut short by applause, and Sandalphon looks up in time to see the curtains falling as the announcer comes on stage to inform them that an intermission will be taking place. Sandalphon immediately takes that as his cue to leave, mumbling out an excuse to find the toilet as he makes his way out of the room without waiting to hear what other nonsense his friends have to say to him.

Sandalphon pushes his way past the crowd of people starting to mill outside, walking about aimlessly. He buys himself a can of iced coffee from the vending machine and decides to slip into the dressing room area. At least there, he won’t have to endure the stares of people trying to figure out if he’s the man they’ve all heard Lucio is dating. The guards let him in immediately, able to recognise Sandalphon by now with how often he’s dropped by to see Lucio.

There’s still a lot of time before the intermission ends so Sandalphon doesn’t bother looking at the time as he weaves past the many actors and backstage helpers watching him wander around curiously. Lucio’s co-actors always rotate so he doesn’t recognise most, or to be more precise this time, any of them for the matter. Not that it matters to him, anyway. The lesser people to bother him, the better.

Eventually, he winds up on the balcony, reveling in the cool breeze of the night air as he sips from his can. Sandalphon winces. The drink is, well, admittedly bad, but it’s not like he expects much from canned coffee.

He sighs. Finally, he can be alone for a while. Sandalphon tilts his head back, eyes catching sight of the stars blanketing the night sky. It’s a beautiful sight, one he doesn’t get to view often because of how busy he usually is. He’s not sure how much time he spends admiring the view but it’s not long before his thoughts linger back to Lucio.

 _Lucio loves looking at the stars, doesn’t he?_ Sandalphon thinks for a brief moment. A bemused smile starts to lace his lips at the thought of Lucio getting excited over something like constellations (because of course Lucio, the absolute _nerd,_ knows all about those) when he catches himself and almost crushes the can in his grip. He groans as he drops his head. _Why_ can’t he stop thinking about him? It’s infuriating, the way Lucio is able to infiltrate his thoughts all the time without fail.

“I should have warned you to stay away from that coffee. I didn’t know you’d hate it to this extent,” a familiar voice speaks behind him and Sandalphon turns. Of course Lucio would be the one to find him. Sandalphon looks at the can in his hand, seeing how he did, in fact, crush it.

“Ohー Ah. It’s not…” he starts sheepishly, trying to explain that it wasn’t because of the taste, and then deciding against it because then he would have to admit that it was because he was thinking about him. Which he would much rather die than ever say out loud. “What are you doing here?”

“Eugene told me you came. I was wondering where you were since you didn’t come to my room, so I ended up looking for you,” Lucio says, walking to stand beside him. He’s still in the same clothes he had on stage, and Sandalphon wills himself not to look down.

 _His face is up there, Sandalphon. His face is up there_.

“Thinking about something?”

“About you,” he answers before he can stop himself. Lucio blinks at him and Sandalphon stares back hopelessly, the can breaking in his grip and dripping coffee all over the floor.

“You… your performance! I mean. You make a very… uh, dashing Romeo?” Sandalphon offers, ignoring the way the coffee is spilling all over his hand. Lucio is still blinking at him, and for a moment he thinks he sees a hint of red on his face before Lucio breaks into a smile, nodding. “Ah. Thank you.”

 _God, this is so awkward_ , Sandalphon realises as he fumbles to find the pack of tissues that have magically disappeared from his pants. “Here,” Lucio saves him from further embarrassing himself as he extends a handkerchief (he's not surprised that the man has one on him).

“Thank yー” Sandalphon starts, about to take the piece of cloth from him when Lucio stops him by taking his hand in his and tenderly (!) wiping it dry. If Sandalphon’s face is a bright red, Lucio doesn’t comment on it, instead choosing to remain silent until he’s done to return his gaze to him, smiling once more.

“There. The strength of your hands never fails to amaze me, San-chan.”

He’s still holding on to his hand, Sandalphon realizes, and neither of them make a move to pull away. Standing on the balcony like this, the moonlight softly illuminates the planes of Lucio’s face, and Sandalphon is once again struck by his beauty. Wisps of long blonde hair are starting to escape from the ponytail Lucio has his hair tied up in and Sandalphon resists the urge to tuck them behind his ear.

Lucio is the first to break the silence, the hold he has on Sandalphon’s hand loosening slightly as he, oh my God, is he _moving closer_ ー?

“About earlier… You were thinking about me?” Lucio is saying teasingly, and Sandalphon would retort except all he can focus on is the fact that Lucio is moving closer and Sandalphon is just allowing this to happen. He scrunches his eyes shut in anticipation, thoughts like _I don’t even know how to kiss_ running amok in his mind all while the stupid can of coffee is still in his hand, and _oh_ , Lucio’s delicate fingers are brushing against his cheekー

“Lucio, isー Oh.”

Sandalphon’s eyes snap open and he immediately yanks his hand free from Lucio, taking one too many steps back. A woman is standing at the door and it takes a moment for Sandalphon to recognise it’s Lucio’s co-star, Juliet.

“Oh. Uh. Rosetta,” Lucio stutters. Sandalphon has never seen him flustered beforeー if he wasn’t so thoroughly embarrassed himself, maybe he would have appreciated the rare view a bit more.

The womanー Rosetta, crosses her arms, tapping her chin thoughtfully as her gaze wanders between the two of them. Sandalphon is struck dumb, standing there frozen like a deer caught in headlights. He can imagine how absolutely idiotic both him and Lucio must look from Rosetta’s perspective.

“Hm… I was going to ask you about something but, you’re clearly busy. There’s still some time before intermission ends, so I’ll see you later. Have fun!” she calls out as she flounces away, dress swishing and heels clickling loudly on the floor. The silence in the room is so loud it’s palpable. Sandalphon almost considers making a break for it and he’s actually about to do it, figuring out where would be a safe to place to land so that he doesn’t break any bones when Lucio speaks up.

“I should see what she needs,” he mumbles, eyes not quite meeting Sandalphon’s. Sandalphon nods mutely, and he gives him a halfhearted smile before turning to leave. “I’ll see you later.”

Sandalphon nods again, watching as Lucio’s figure disappears through the door. And then he groans, throwing the can on the floor.

“It’s your fault,” he says angrily to the can, and then (very shamefully) picks it up again before he leaves, not wanting some unsuspecting idiot (Lucio) to trip on it.

♡

Sandalphon rejoins his friends afterwards, but even after the show resumes and he watches both Romeo and Juliet quite literally die on stage while the crowd is in hysterics, the women behind him starting up in loud sniffles again, Sandalphon is barely paying any attention. His head is buzzing with thoughts of Lucio almost kissing him earlier. He shouldn’t be this affected, he tells himself. Lucio has kissed plenty of people. So what if he was about to kiss Sandalphon just now? They were both caught in the moment, that was all. Yeah. Nothing to it.

“Sandalphon, let’s go,” Djeeta is nudging him, and Sandalphon breaks out of his stupor. Oh. It’s over.

He allows himself to be led to the dressing room area, until he realises he has to see Lucio again after all _that_ and act normally. He quickly tries schooling his features into something less panicky, only to walk into someone with an _oof_ while he’s busy not paying attention. 

“San-chan?” Lucio asks curiously, holding him at an arm’s length. It just had to be _him_ he so happens to walk into. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Fine,” Sandalphon laughs in a distressed tone, inching away from Lucio. Sandalphon can practically _feel_ the stares of his friends on his back and he wants to die. Lucio thankfully doesn’t press the issue. Instead, he starts to thank them for coming, laughing amicably and accepting every single one of their compliments.

“I really liked your costumes. Even Sandalphon couldn’t keep his eyes off of you,” Shalem, the absolute _traitor,_ pipes up. How the hell did she even notice when she was three seats away from him? Lucio quirks an eyebrow at that as Sandalphon quietly chants _why is the universe doing this to me_ to himself.

“It’s a play and Lucio is the main actor. Of course I was looking at him,” he responds dryly instead.

For some unknown reason, Djeeta takes this as her cue to chime in. “Well, that would be the case, if it weren’t for what you did to that armreー”

“Is anyone thirsty? Maybe we should head back to the café,” Sandalphon smoothly cuts in instead. Shalem and Djeeta are smirking knowingly at him and somewhere behind him, someone sighs (probably just Michael again).

Lucio looks pleased, however. “You wouldn’t mind? It is quite late.”

Sandalphon shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat.”

♡

Café Millenia is a quaint coffee shophouse hidden away in a small corner of town. Hydrangea shrubs in shades of blue, pink and purple line the entrance, and hanging plants and vines adorn various corners of the café, all courtesy of Leona who was responsible for most of the decorating. In addition to the warm, welcoming aroma of ground coffee beans, one who steps into the café is sure to hear the soft tunes of nu jazz crooning from the gramophone that Cain had insisted they absolutely _must_ have in the shop. If you go up the stairs, there’s a modest living area Sandalphon calls home.

Sandalphon had started the shop with the intention of serving _real_ coffee to people, not the cheap, bland kind sold in stores. He wanted others to experience the same love he felt upon tasting the first cup ever brewed for him many years ago in a distant, fond memory. Needless to say, his friends had been endlessly supportive of him and his endeavor. Djeeta even introduced him to Leona, who very patiently helped him with the groundwork of his café and even brought in Cain and Reinhardtzar, who now work with him full-time.

While Cain specializes in latte art, Reinhardtzar’s talent lies in sweets, particularly cakes. Children laugh in glee at the tiny cats Cain has drawn for them, and many customers with a sweet tooth often come to him to complement Reinhardtzar’s cinnamon melts. He also employs the help of Ferry and Narmaya, whose sweet smiles and impeccable customer service keeps people coming back for more. The amount of love and effort Sandalphon has poured into making his dream possible is the exact reason why Café Millenia is his pride and joy.

The bell to the café tinkles as Sandalphon pushes the door open, flipping the light switch on. The shop is in pristine condition, evidence of Ferry’s thorough cleaning after the last shift.

“Make yourselves at home,” Sandalphon offers, shifting his coat and scarf off. The rest of his friends don’t have to be told twice; Shalem, Djeeta and Lyria taking up residence on the wooden swing set in the corner while Gabriel, Michael, Raphael and Uriel opt for the normal seats. Lucio is the only one who slides on to one of the bar stools right by the counter where the coffee brewer is and Sandalphon tilts his head at that. “Not sitting with the others?”

Lucio smiles, resting his chin on his hand. “I can see you better up close here. It has been a while since I’ve last had the pleasure of observing you brewing coffee. There is something delicate in the way you do it.”

Sandalphon turns violently red at that. “Forget I asked.” He marches straight to the fridge, yanking the door open to hide his face.

True, it has been a while since Lucio has dropped by the café. His status as a famous actor makes it difficult for him to just waltz into such a public place after all. Lucio normally only frequents the café after work, when the last of the regulars have gone home and Cain and the rest have bid Sandalphon goodbye. However, with Lucio being so busy now, his visits have decreased, the two of them mostly opting to communicate by text instead.

…Now that he thinks about it, the thought of just the two of them in the coffee shop alone late at night does have a sort of intimate atmosphere to it.

He bangs his head against the fridge shelf immediately, a string of curses following suit.

“Sandalphon?” Lucio speaks curiously behind him, a hint of worry in his tone.

“Fine, I’m fine,” he calls out, rubbing his head. _Enough is enough, Sandalphon_ , he tells himself.

Trying to get everyone to forget about his previous blunder, Sandalphon starts to take his friends’ orders. Soon, the room is filled with the quiet chatter of his friends discussing the play again and the rhythmic hum of the coffee maker. Raphael ends up in tears over the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Gabriel sneakily videos the meltdown on her phone, all while Uriel pats him on the back comfortingly. Michael ends up stopping Gabriel by placing a hand on top of hers, sighing as she says, “I think that’s enough, honey,”, only to pause while the café explodes in shock at Michael’s accidental reveal of their unexpected relationship.

The night continues like that, all of them exchanging topics back and forth while partaking in occasional banters here and there. They celebrate Gabriel and Michael’s new relationship and Lucio haphazardly sticks a candle into a cinnamon melt while Sandalphon watches with mixed horror and fondness.

Eventually, as the night stretches on, Lyria falls asleep at the table and they decide to call it a day. The rest of his friends eventually leave one by one, until only Lucio, Djeeta, Lyria and Shalem are left. Djeeta lifts Lyria on her back, promising him that they’ll get back home safe despite Sandalphon’s insistence to walk them home.

“I’m not a martial artist for nothing, Sandalphon. Go on and entertain your last guest,” she laughs, heading out of the door with a snoring Lyria on her back while Shalem gives him a quick wave.

“Good luck, lover boy,” Shalem calls out as she leaves and Sandalphon, once again, starts to wonder why his friends insist on tormenting him like this. He looks back to Lucio, who is still perched on top of his stool. His drink has long been finished, but for some reason, Lucio is staring into his empty cup.

“Do you want a refill?” Sandalphon offers. It’s late, but not that he minds Lucio staying. Lucio looks up, blinking.

“Ah, it’s not… No, I am alright,” Lucio replies. He looks troubled, eyebrows scrunched together and a small pout on his lips. Sandalphon can’t stop himself from calling the sight before him cute.

“That’s fine,” Sandalphon tells him, sliding on to the seat beside him. “You’re not heading home yet?”

Sandalphon prays that his tone doesn’t sound too hopeful. Despite everything that had happened earlier, now that it’s just the two of them again, Sandalphon doesn’t feel as awkward as he did before. In fact, he kind of… misses this. Just him and Lucio.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?” Lucio replies. His hand is playing with the tie in his hair. Sandalphon’s eyes follow the movement of his fingers and he watches as Lucio eventually pulls his ponytail loose, letting his hair hang loosely around his shoulders. Sandalphon’s mouth turns dry for a moment and he almost forgets to reply him.

“N-no! Of course not. You can uh… stay as long as you want.”

Lucio smiles at that, eyes crinkling slightly in the corners. “Thank you for the offer. I was hoping to talk to you alone. I hope you don’t mind me cornering you like this.” Lucio hesitates for a moment. “It’s about… earlier.”

“Ah.” Sandalphon just nods. He wasn’t expecting Lucio to be so direct and straight to the point. Lucio sighs, and his gaze has returned to the empty cup before him.

Lucio starts to speak carefully, “I wish to apologize for my actions. If I’ve made you uncomfortable, I am deeply sorry. I should not have acted that way simply because of our, uh, ‘arrangement’, which you have been going along with all this time for my sake. It was… terribly impulsive of me. I apologize.”

Sandalphon is quiet for a moment. He’s not sure what he expected Lucio to say, but an apology was definitely not it. He can’t help the disappointment welling up in him. Lucio is still avoiding looking at him, and Sandalphon inhales sharply.

“So, you regret it?” is all he can muster as a reply. _That_ causes Lucio to look back at at him, eyes widening.

“That is not…”

“It’s fine,” Sandalphon says stiffly. Lucio is right. It was just a spur-of-the moment thing. Nothing to it. They are friends, after all, like he told himself. So why is Sandalphon so upset?

“Oh, Sandalphon,” Lucio whispers. He’s touching him now, a thumb brushing against his cheek and that’s when Sandalphon realises, much to his horror, that he’s wiping away a stray tear. Sandalphon jerks away, standing abruptly as he turns his back to Lucio.

 _Am I seriously crying right now? What the fuck?_ Sandalphon thinks, furiously dragging a sleeve along his eyes. “Sorry. I… think you should leave.”

It's not like he's angry at Lucio, or anything. He just doesn't think he can take someone watching him bawl like a child. Sandalphon can hear the tell-tale sound of Lucio getting up as the stool scrapes across the floor jarringly, and for a moment he thinks that Lucio is really going to walk past him and leave. At least when he’s alone, he can finally be left to himself to mope about his failed love life.

What he doesn’t expect is for Lucio to take him in his arms, arms snaking around his waist and pulling him back against a warm chest.

“Lucio? What are youー”

“I like you, Sandalphon,” comes the simple reply from Lucio, soft and breathy against his ear, and Sandalphon blanches. It’s too much, the sensation of Lucio pressed up against him with his arms around him, surrounding and absolutely drowning Sandalphon in his warm, comforting aura. There’s _too much_ of Lucio.

 _I’m going to die. This it it_ , he thinks. His heart is beating so fast he swears it’s about to pound out of his chest any moment now. Either Lucio is oblivious to his current situation, or he’s ignoring it, because he continues speaking.

"I apologize if I’ve hurt your feelings earlier. I was always under the impression that you never felt the same way about me, so I was trying to be mindful of your feelings. I felt terrible, thinking that I took advantage of your vulnerability earlier. I have been thinking about how to apologize to you all night. I never thought apologizing would make matters worse.”

So that’s why Lucio looked so troubled earlier. It starts to click in Sandalphon’s mind now. Lucio likes him. All the flirting, the casual touches, it was all signs of Lucio liking him. And Sandalphon had been an idiot all along, thinking it was just something normal friends do. God, this must be why he's been single all his life.

Wait a moment.

“Wait.” Sandalphon abruptly wriggles free from Lucio’s hold, turning to face him. “You thought I never felt the same way about you?”

Lucio looks back at him curiously. “…Yes? I was never able to pick up any indication that you liked me in that sense.”

"I went to all of your plays," he explains, but Lucio still looks puzzled. 

"I don't even like watching plays." 

Now Lucio looks both confused and mildly offended.

“Iー Youー” Sandalphon sputters. “Maybe it took me this exact moment to realise, but I've always... Ugh. Wait here.” Without waiting for an answer, he disappears up the stairs, only to reappear moments later (after a lot of shuffling and mumbling upstairs), holding something behind his back.

He strides over to Lucio determinedly, faltering only for a second, before unceremoniously shoving a bouquet of roses in his face. Lucio audibly gasps, and Sandalphon wants to groan at him for making this so dramatic. Sandalphon avoids looking anywhere near Lucio’s face, gaze turned towards the ground.

“Take it. I wanted to give them to you earlier but, uh… Too many people,” he mumbles. He leaves out the part where he bought them impulsively from the florist after thinking about how Lucio’s face would surely light up at the sight of them, only to chicken out and shove them in his room when he got home.

“Oh, San-chan, this is…” Lucio carefully accepts the bouquet from him as if he’s never been given one before (it’s the oppositeー his dressing room is always flooded with flowers and cards from his adoring fans). Sandalphon dares to chance a look at his face, only to see tears already welling up in Lucio’s eyes.

“Please don’t cry.” Sandalphon panics.

“I’m just so happy,” Lucio laughs tearfully, obscuring his face behind the bouquet as he does, and Sandalphon is suddenly glad he didn’t throw the flowers out yet. “I like you so much, Sandalphon.”

“You already said that earlier,” Sandalphon points out, the tips of his ears burning. How Lucio is able to say such embarrassing things so easily is beyond him.

“Are you not going to say it back?” Lucio is smiling almost bashfully now behind the roses, peering at him behind long lashes. Sandalphon huffs. Why does he have to be so damn endearing?

“I… like you too, I guess.” 

And just like that, Lucio is suddenly lifting him up and twirling him around. Sandalphon protests loudly, words of, “Lucio! Lucio, what the hell, put me downー” completely being ignored as Lucio continues to twirl him around like he’s some Disney princess before bringing him (and subsequently crushing the flowers) to his chest. A soft, “I like you, Sandalphon,” is breathed into his hair.

“You already said that.”

Lucio chuckles. “I don’t plan on stopping.”

They’re both quiet, silently holding on to each other. Sandalphon feels strangely calm, being held by someone else. Hugging Lucio feels just as nice as he had always imagined it to be. This time, it’s Sandalphon who speaks up. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Lucio looks at him, puzzled. “I don’t… think so?”

Sandalphon rolls his eyes, gripping Lucio’s shirt with both hands and raising on to his tiptoes to reach him. “You’re hopeless,” he whispers against the other’s lips, before pressing their lips together. He moves away just as quickly, drinking in the soft rosy hue painting Lucio’s cheeks. Finally, he’s not the one blushing this time.

It doesn’t take Lucio long to recover, fingers brushing against his face and greedily pulling him in for another one, pouting, as he says, “That wasn’t a proper kiss.”

Sandalphon smirks. “Oh yeah? Then show me a proper one.”

Lucio is more than happy to oblige.

♡

Later, they somehow end up tangled together in Sandalphon’s bed. Lucio has one arm wrapped around Sandalphon (he really likes back hugs, Sandalphon notices) while his free hand plays absentmindedly with his hair.

“Stay here tonight.”

It’s not a question, but a statement. Lucio nods. “Of course, San-chan.”

Sandalphon shifts, turning his body to lean his forehead against Lucio’s. Lucio is quick to adjust, already hooking an arm over his body again.

“Stay with me. For as long as you want.”

“Is forever good enough?” Lucio chuckles, leaning in to kiss him sweetly.

“Idiot,” Sandalphon whispers, but there’s no bite to his tone as he closes his eyes, moving closer to reciprocate the action. Outside, rain starts to fall, drumming steadily against the window, but neither of them notice.


End file.
